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EARLY JAPAN
until 710


HISTORY
RELIGION
POLITICS

History Overview

Nara, Heian Periods
Kamakura Period
Muromachi Period
Azuchi-Momoyama
Edo Period
Meiji Period
Militarism, WW2
Post War

Shinto
Buddhism
Confucianism
Taoism
Rice
Kanji
Emperor

During the Jomon Period (8000 BC to 300 BC), the inhabitants of the Japanese islands were gatherers, fishers and hunters. Jomon is the name of that era's pottery.

During the Yayoi Period (300 BC to 250 AD), the rice culture was imported into Japan around 100 BC. With the introduction of agriculture, social classes started to evolve, and parts of the country began to unite under powerful land owners. Again, its pottery gave the period its name.
During the Yayoi period, iron and other modern ideas were introduced from Korea into Kyushu which became the center of Japan. Chinese travelers during the Han and Wei dynasties reported that a queen called Himiko (or Pimiku) reigned the country at that time.

Later, the center of power shifted eastwards and reached the fertile Kinai plain (Kansai). By about 400 AD the country was united as Yamato Japan (Yamato period: 300 - 710) with its political center in and around the province of Yamato (around today's Nara prefecture). The period is also referred to as Kofun period because of the large tombs (kofun) that were built for the political leaders of that era.

The emperor was ruler of Yamato Japan and resided in a capital that used to be moved frequently from one city to another.
Shinto is the native religion of the Japanese. The emperor was believed to be the direct descendant of the most important Shinto god, the Sun godess Amaterasu. Her shrine is the Ise shrine located in today's Mie prefecture.
The Soga clan soon took over the actual political power, resulting in the fact that most of the emperors only acted as the symbol of the state and performed Shinto rituals.

Yamato Japan extended from Kyushu to the Kinai plain, but did not yet include the Kanto and the Tohoku.
Japan also exerted some control over a small territory in the south of Korea. Due to this fact and the friendly relations to the kingdom of Kudara (or Paikche) in Korea, the influence from the mainland increased strongly.
Even though Japan had lost all military and political influence on the Korean peninsula by the year 662, the influence from the mainland remained intensive.

Buddhism was imported into Japan in the year 538 or 552. The new religion was welcomed by the ruling class which was generally open for reforms. Prince Shotoku is said to have played an especially important role in promoting Chinese influence. He also wrote the Constitution of Seventeen Articles about moral and political principles.
Buddhism gained a huge number of followers among the members of the upper class and became the state religion. However, its difficult theories were not comprehended by the average farmer.
Some minor struggles first took place when Shinto was confronted with Buddhism, but soon the two religions began to coexist harmonically.

In 645 Nakatomi no Kamatari started the era of the Fujiwara clan that was to last until the rise of the military class (samurai) in the 11th centrury.
In the same year, the Taika reforms were realized: A new government and administrative system were copied from the Chinese system; all land was bought by the state and redistributed equally among the farmers in a large land reform in order to introduce the new tax system that was also adopted from China.

With the immense influence from the mainland came also the theories of Confucianism and Taoism, as well as the Chinese writing system, the kanji into Japan.

EARLY JAPAN


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January 9, 1998
In Deutsch
all copyrights by Schauwecker's Guide to Japan